25 Questions on the Broncos

  

What is their body of work?

In 2016, WMU hit the pinnacle, playing in the Cotton Bowl under RowTheBoat Fleck.   Alum and football great Tim Lester came in after that and he's been OK.  They are 35-30 with no division titles in what is now his 6th season. Last year was his best season at 8-5.

They were picked to be 4th in the West.  They are 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the MAC.  Their only non-conference win was over New Hampshire.  Inside the MAC, they have won @BSU and @Miami (last week) and lost to EMU and OU.  They have yet to lose on the road in MAC play this year.

WMU is dominating this series.  They have won 6 of the last 7. BG has not played them since 2019, and it was 2018 at the Doyt, the last game in the Jinks Era.

BG Hall of Famer Jack Harbaugh coached at WMU for five seasons.

How experienced are they?

This is a very young team.  They have 18 juniors or seniors on their two deep.  

Who are their nationally ranked players?

Sean Tyler is #15 in all purpose yards

Corvin Moment is #8 in sacks

Zaire Barnes is #9 in solo tackles

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are -3

Offense

How is their QB play? (MAC Only from here on in)

Nothing to write home about.  He's #7 in passing efficiency.  He has 50% completions with 6 INT and 4 TD.  He is not much of a dual threat. He is a R-FR in his first year as a starter.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They are #9 in scoring and 11th in yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

They are 8th in yards per rush as a team, but there a lot of sacks in that mix.  Their lead back is Sean Tyler, and he's #10 with 4.9 yards per carry.  He's averaging 86 per game.  Note that their #2 back was suspended indefinitely today,

Do they pass the ball?

They are #8 in pass efficiency as a team.  They don't have any big play WRs to speak of.

How is their run/pass balance?

Their play mix is fairly even, running on 51% of their plays.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

At 39% they are 6th.

Do they score in the red zone?

It is pretty good at 5 points per trip.

Do they protect the quarterback?

They have been sacked on 8.7% of their pass plays, which is pretty high.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They are 8th in scoring defense and 9th in yards per play allowed.  Not great defensive success.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are very difficult to run on.  They are #2 at 3.5 yards per carry.  Teams do not run on them very much, they are #11 in rushing attempts against.

Can they be passed on?

They are 6th in defensive pass efficiency.  They allow 61% completions, 5 TD and 1 INT and 12.4 yards per completion.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They do.  They are 4th in the MAC at 34%.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Pretty good at 4.5 yards per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

Pretty good.  Sacks on 7% of opponent's passing attempts.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are #10 in net punting. No TDs, they have been blocked once all year.

Punt Return?

They are #11 in punt returns.

Placekicking? 

All games, he is not bad.  9-12 overall, 2 misses under 40 and a long of 52.

Kickoff? 

Teams start on the 25.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 24 but there is a TD in there.

Intangible Miscellany

This is the third straight game where BG is playing a team struggling on offense.  WMU is also not great on defense, but tough to run against.  I think the formula is the same.  BG is +6 on turnovers for the year.  They need to get that done and then continue to get enough offense to win.  They should be able to rush the QB and that will make a big difference.  

BG is a 4 point favorite, if that isn't amazing enough. BG still has a shot at 6 wins, but will need this one for a realistic shot.  More importantly, they have won two MAC games in a row--though it feels like more--but you'd like continued consistency to believe we are on the right track.